5531.08
Using money in highway operating fund for construction costs.

(A)
In order to expedite a highway project involving the expenditure of federal and
state funds and to utilize all privileges provided by the "Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991," 105 Stat. 1914,
49 U.S.C.A.
101, the director of transportation may
designate a project team for the purposes of certifying design review and
performing field and office inspections and cost estimates, on behalf of the
federal highway administration.

(1)
Upon a written determination by the director that it would be in the best
interests of the traveling public, the director, upon the written request of a
county, township, or municipal corporation, may utilize moneys in the highway
operating fund created by section
5735.291 of the Revised Code to
pay that portion of the construction cost of a highway project which the
county, township, or municipal corporation normally would be required to
pay.

(2)
The
director shall not utilize moneys in the highway operating fund for a highway
project in the manner described in division (B)(1) of this section unless all
of the following apply:

(a)
The
preliminary engineering design of the project is complete, all necessary
rights-of-way have been obtained, and all federal, state, and local
environmental studies and permits have been performed or obtained;

(b)
The director of transportation has submitted the proposed project to the
director of development for an evaluation of the potential economic benefit to
the area. The county, township, or municipal corporation certifies to the
director of development that the project will create not less than five
permanent living wage jobs. This requirement shall be fulfilled during the
three-year period following the completion date of the project, and the county,
township, or municipal corporation may define the geographic area within which
the jobs will be created.

(c)
The quotient resulting from the division of the total amount of moneys utilized
to cover the portion of the construction cost of the highway project that a
county, township, or municipal corporation would normally be required to pay,
divided by the number of permanent living wage jobs certified to the director
of development by the county, township, or municipal corporation pursuant to
division (B)(2)(b) of this section is less than or equal to ten thousand
dollars.

(C)
Upon a written determination by the director of transportation that it would be
in the best interests of the traveling public, the director, upon the written
request of a county, township, or municipal corporation, may declare a waiver
of that portion of the cost
of a highway project which the county, township, or municipal corporation
normally would be required to pay.

(1)
Review all requests submitted by a county, township, or municipal corporation
to the director of transportation pursuant to division (B) of this section for
the expenditure of moneys from the highway operating fund;

(2)
Submit findings and recommendations
to the director of transportation upon completion of the review
process;

(3)
Monitor
the results of a highway project for which moneys in the highway operating fund
are utilized in order to ascertain whether the number of permanent living wage
jobs certified to the director of transportation pursuant to division (B)(2)(b)
of this section actually are created as a result of the highway project within
the three-year period following the completion of the project, and submit
reports relating to this subject to the director as necessary.

(E)
The
director of transportation may award eligible federal funds or state general
revenue funds to local units of government, including regional transit
authorities providing public transportation service and metropolitan planning
organizations. These funds may be used for such purposes as alleviating traffic
congestion or improving air quality in nonattainment areas of the state as
defined by the "Clean Air Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 2399,
42 U.S.C.A.
7401. The funds also may be used to acquire
or construct park-and-ride facilities, to purchase traffic devices to improve
vehicular flow, and for other travel demand management activities that meet the
mandates of the Clean Air Act in nonattainment areas of the state.

(F)
As used in this section, "living wage job" means an employment position paying
an annual average gross wage amount per full-time person of not less than
twenty thousand dollars per year.